“Girl, you’re killin’ it!” texted my former co-worker turned friend when discussing apartment/neighborhood recommendations turned into an update on life, love, and work.  My response, “Am I though?” says no.  So, am I really KILLIN’ IT? Whatever IT is?  Everyone has a personal definition for ‘killin’ it’.  Mine involves waking up every morning excited to work and feeling like I’m making an impact on the organization and society.  Textbook millennial.

Today is my birthday.  I’m 29 and I can’t stop wondering if I’m killin’ it or what’s missing.  I’ve worked in at mid-sized higher education institution and was promoted after one year.  A year later I was offered and accepted a position with a large, public institution.  During that time I went back to school, while working full-time, and received my MBA. Four months after graduation I landed a contract position in corporate recruiting with a quickly growing company and was converted from contract to permanent in three months. So killin’ it?  I’m still not sure.  

Thinking beyond my textbook be excited about work and make an impact definition of ‘killin’ it, I’ve identified four key parts to killin’ the game:

1. Feeling confident in your ability to impact the organization
2. A sense of humility
3. Recognized as a leader in your current space
4. Excited about work

Reaching killin’ it status requires a lot of dedication, self-reflection, and awareness, but it also requires support from managers, mentors, influencers as well.  As such, I’ve included ways you can make sure you and your employees are reaching killin’ it status as a team.

1. Feeling confident in your ability to impact the organization

AS AN EMPLOYEE: As a person of color (POC) and woman, an abundance of articles are geared to me: overcoming imposter syndrome, lack of confidence in value and negotiations.  Confidence does alleviate these issues, but it is also being at a state where you feel comfortable to share genuine thoughts and ideas without fear of being reprimanded.  Go into work with the mindset, I’m here, they hired me, they want me and my skill set. If you go into work thinking you just barely got the job, you’ll never be confident and as a result you’ll never make an impact on the organization.

AS A MANAGER:  In all my workplaces there have been ‘powers that be’ adding often unnecessary stress to day to day activities.  I don’t believe confidence is solely the responsibility of the employee.  A lot comes from the manager and up, instilling power and giving ownership to employees.  Next time you give an employee a stretch project, tell them, ‘I’m here if you need me, but I know you got this.’ That says I believe in you, I trust you can complete this without my managing your every move.  Your confidence in them will build their own self-confidence.

2. A sense of humility

AS AN EMPLOYEE: We all know by now, Billy McFarland exudes confidence, to a fault.  What he isn’t, is humble.  A strong sense of humility allows us to look inward and earnestly receive feedback.  If your emotional intelligence is at a solid place and you have a pretty even game of tug of war happening with confidence and humility, you’re on your way to killin’ it. 

AS A MANAGER:  While management sounds great, we all know it can be an overwhelmingly administrative role.  Handling HR issues, putting out fires, answering to those same ‘powers that be.’  A lot happens and it’s easy to get caught up in the rat race.  If you feel busy, chances are your employees also feel you’re busy and unapproachable.  They probably think, “she’s always in meetings and doesn’t really understand what we do daily.”  Make sure you take time out of the craziness to tell your employees you appreciate their hard work.  Model humility for them by sharing updates as you attend meetings and ask for their feedback regarding initiatives, then recognizing their input at the next meeting. 

3. Recognized as a leader in your current space

AS AN EMPLOYEE: Keyword here, current.  If your current space is a AAA travel agency (as I was in after undergrad) and you’re seen as the go-to for advice and troubleshooting, you’re a leader in that space.  My past space, international education, had many facets.  I could be a leader in study abroad, immigration regulations, advising, recruiting, admissions, and more.  But I found I could be a leader in my office by coming up with new ways to read applications quickly and efficiently, learning all I could about new software and helping others troubleshoot, and coming up with fresh ideas to engage students with our Ambassador program.  While I didn’t have a leadership title, my co-workers valued my opinion and viewed me as a leader in that specific space. 

AS A MANAGER:  Time and time again I’ve heard, only hire people smarter and better than you.  Remember, it is okay if your employees know more than you.  Hey! It makes your job a little easier!  Encourage your employees to learn, learn, learn.  Internally provide opportunities for growth whether it’s a stretch project or time during the day to watch a webinar on a newly purchased system.  Externally encourage them to network in the industry, attend or even better present at conferences.  I cannot, cannot, cannot stand when managers say, ‘he’s good at XYZ, let’s keep him there.’  No, not gonna work.  That employee will leave to still be good at XYZ with another corporation, but with opportunities to continue to learn and impact business.  Honestly, if you fear employees will leave after developing them, maybe you’re not in the right role. Chances are if you’re doing this in addition to title changes, pay increases, a great culture, they won’t leave.  They’ll stay because they feel valued and have been recognized appropriately.

4. Excited about work

AS AN EMPLOYEE:  If you’re miserable in the morning and can’t muster up an ounce of excitement to work 5 days in a row, it’s time for a change.  Our tastes are always changing.  Maybe blue moo cookie dough ice cream from UDF had you jumping as a child, but now Baskin Robin’s Mom’s Making Cookies brings out the happy shimmy.  At a minimum, evaluate your interests quarterly.  Ask yourself, in the past three months, what was I excited for at work this quarter?  If I had to do one task all day at work, what would it be?  If the only answer you have is eating Carol’s strawberry cheesecake at the holiday party, it’s time to dig deep and re-evaluate.  Reach out to your professional and personal contacts, ask them about your strengths and weakness.  You may be surprised and find you’re even more excited than you are about some of the strength points. Take their feedback and really think hard about your personal interests.

AS A MANAGER:  If you’re micro-managing, please stop.  There are some, by some I mean few scenarios, when micro-managing is necessary.   However, if you hired smarter and better than you, there is no reason.  In fact, it will make your high-achieving employees resent your very presence in the workplace.  This might sound extreme, but perception of you as a pushy, has nothing better to do, nagging boss is also their reality.  Also do what you can to keep the workplace fun.  This is easier in some spaces than others but fit it in where you can.  Call your team out for a quick 5-minute standup and surprise them with their favorite candy bars or a quick adult coloring session (I’ve done this and it’s great for stress relief and bonding at work).  You can also incorporate activities into weekly/monthly meetings like planting herbs.  The herbs might die on someone’s window sill, but hey at least your team was excited to see the daily growth and laughed when you realize someone dumped the whole packet of seeds in one pot ensuring great growth while other herbs were struggling and began wilting away (true story).

After looking at the 4 key parts to killin’ the game and evaluating my current state, maybe I am killin’ it. On the outside at least; but as an over-achiever I know I can well exceed the current into the future by continuing to evaluate and implement these tips.  The sky’s the limit! 

How about you?  Are you killin’ it?  What support do you give your employees to make sure they’re killin’ it daily?